Ice bag and closure therefor



March 7, 1944. LQBL 2,343,512 I ICE BAG AND CLOSURE THEREFOR Filed March 17; 1942 i I I 18 I 28 12 W I] 23 /7 I 9 Patented Mar. 7, 1944 U NITED STATES PATEN GEE-ICE ICE-BEGAN!) CLQ'SURE THEREFQR Freder'ick'Lobl, Middleboro Mass.

Application .March '17, 1'942, "Ser i:il'1\lo.' K3543!!!) 2 Claims.

Thepresent invention relates generally to receptacles adapted to contain ice, hot water, or other "fluids, and as illustrated herein, relates more particularly to a closure construction for thefilling opening of: a waterproof bag or other receptacle containing crushed. ice.

Ice bags are in common use'in hospitals and other places for the care :and'treatment of sick persons. The closure or cap for the filling opening of such a bag mustat all times eiiectively seal the filling opening to insure against leakage of the fluid contents of the bag.

Since ice bags and the like are ordinarily used inthe. care and treatment of'sick persons, it is obvious that these bags'are ordinarily handled by women Whose hands, while not weak, however, usually-are not strong enough to exert a heavy turning pressure to a screw cap to tightly seal the filling opening and to unscrew the 'cap after it has been screwed on tightly. .Itis desirable, therefore, to providea" closure .or 'cap'which' will efiectively provide a fluid tight seal with the minimum of physical eiiort and also one wherein the resistance to sealing movement more gradually-increases than is the case of the usual seal,

. wherein a rubber ring'is compressed between two opposing surfaces of th bag and cap. An improved form of such a seal especially adapted for use with-manufacturing material now available under conditions of restrictions of materials constitutes an object of the-present invention. Such a ea must be easily screwed intosealing position and must be easily unscrewed when it is desired to remove the contents of the ice bag.

In my prior Patent No; 1,640,508, granted August 30, 1927 there is described and claimed a cap or closure for ice bags which fulfills the above requirements as to function and has gone into extensive commercial use but is formed of metal which, under present conditions, is difiicult -to obtain.

Thus one object of the present invention is to provide an improved cap or closure member for ice bags or other fluid tight receptacleswhich can be screwed into sealing position without the exercise of any particular 'physicalefiort and whichiseffective to seal the tfillingopening over a relativelylong range of movement into sealin position 'anclof which the cap can be molded in one piece of an-available artificial .resinand wherein "the resilient sealing or packing disc is readily replaceable. To this end; and-asillustrated', one .feature of the invention resides in an ice bag provided with closure member having ail-outwardly radially extending annularrecess overlying the end face or the" neck or an icebag' or o't-her receptacle said' recess *havingseated therein a resilient sealing "or packing member or ring-which normally engages only the side walls of the recessa substantial distance from the bottom thereof so that the recess underlies practically the entire radial dimensions of the ring. By the use of "this'construction, sea'lingof the filling opening is accom'p'lishedby fle'xingthe resilient packing ring by the neck as the" cap-is screwed therein and since "the recess is relatively deep "as compared 'vn'th the thickness or the washer; flexing ofthe packing ring'without "com-j pressing any portion er the ring against "the bottom "of the recess will take place 'over a"relatiyely lcngextent of axial movement "of thecap or closure'member as it is screwed into sealingposition. With the above construction, it is apparent that a fluid tight; joint "between the neck and the closure member can he obtained within a min mum amount of physical effort by the elasticity of the bent ring.

A further object of the inventionis to improve generally/upon the construction of receptacles for ice; hot 'wateror other fluids especially as used for therapeutic purposes.

With the above and other objects and features in view'the" invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawing in which- V "Fig. 115 a plan view of'an'ice bag embodying the present-invention;

Fig. 2 is a view in section taken along the line 2'-2 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is an enlarged sectional view illustrating the sealing or'packing ring in normal or unflexed position in the recess of the cap or closure member;

' Fig. 4-is a sectional View on an enlarged scale similar to-Fig; '3, but illustrating'the filling neck of the'ice' bag in a sealing position against the packingring; and

Fig.""5 is asectionalview on an enlarged scale illustrating successive "positions of the washer or packing r'ing as-sealing pressureis applied therethrough-by'turning the cap or closure member.

Referring'nowto the drawing, it will be noted that the icebag' construction includes generally three elements, naine1y',the cap 'or closure member I 0, themetal neck l2,=into which the cap or closure member I B is'screwed, andthe waterproof fabric M or other waterproof material which forms the b'e'dy of tlie' bag. "The metal nec'kis formed with an 'inn'er 'cy lindrical leg 1'6 that "has internal screw threads iland is spaced from 2 and is generally parallel with an outer cylin drical and shorter leg It. The legs are integrally connected at the top by a connecting section I9 which has an annular dome 20 projecting beyond the joined ends of the legs. The waterproof fabric I4 is usually formed of textile material coated on its inner surface with a waterproof coating such, for example, as rubber. To retain the fabric M in bag form, the edge thereof is gatheredinto pleats and inserted in the space between the two legs of the metal neck l2 and the outer leg I8 is spun inwardly to pinch the pleats together between the legs to form a water tight joint between the body I4 and the neck l2.

The closure member ID is preferably formed of one integral molded piece of a suitable available artificial resin or other suitable plastic material. The closure I ll is provided with an axially extending cylindrical flange 22 projecting away from the top or cover portion 22a of the closure or cap. The upstanding portion 22 is formed with external screw threads 23 which fit into the internal screw threads I! of the metal neck member I2. The closure In is also provided with an outwardly radially extending annular flange 24 atone end of the threaded cylindrical flange 22 and which is arranged to overlie the end of the neck member l2. The flange 22 in that face thereof that confronts the end of the metal neck member is provided with an annular recess 26 or groove of substantial radial width which is substantiallysemi-circular in cross-section and into which the external screw threads 23 extend. The recess 26 is sufliciently wide to receive the end of the neck I2 loosely and to permit a flat resilient ring or packing member 28 which is located entirely within and spans the recess to be flexed inwardly of the recess by the movement of the neck inwardly of the recess until the ring abuts against the base of the recess 26.

The ring 28 is preferably formed of rubber but it is apparent that it could be formed of other suitable resilient material if so desired. The ring 28 is relatively thin and hence has a thickness which is materially less than the depth of the recess 26 but sufiicient to be resilient to span the recess without sagging. The ring 28 preferably has an internal diameter which is somewhat less than the outer diameter of the upstanding cylindrical flange 22 or at least conforms closely thereto when thereabout. The outer diameter of the ring 28 in its normal unstressed condition is equal to or slightly less than the diameter of the outer edge of the semi-circular groove or recess 26. The thickness of the ring and the arrangement of the groove is such that preferably the ring is located in the groove not appreciably above the face of the flange containing the groove. Thus, as shown in Fig. 3, the packing, ring 28 spans the openend of the recess 26 and is supported by the cap only at its inner and outer peripheries, which peripheries are seated in a sealing manner on the inner and outer walls or ledges of the recess the body of the ring spanning the grooveand being out of contact with the underlying wall thereof.

It is apparent that when the cap or closure H! is screwed into the metal neck l2 so that the dome or annular projection 20 of the neck bears against approximately the mid portion of the washer 28, the washer 28 will be flexed downwardly, as shown best, for example, in Fig. 4. Thus, the side edge portions of the washer are seated firmly against the side walls of the recess 25 and the mid portion of the washer is seated firmly against the dome 20 of the filling neck I2 and is held there by the resiliency of the bent disc to provide a fluid tight joint between the disc and dome.

Further movement or the cap inwardly of the neck of the bag depresses the packing ring further into the recess, as illustrated in Fig. 5, but without greatly increasing the resistance of the cap to such movement. The pitch of the engaged screw threads is relatively fine so that a relatively large rotational movement of the cap is necessary to increase the depression of the ring. This action increases the tightness of the seal by increasing the pressure between the bent resilient ring and the contacting parts of the cap and neck and the area of contact therewith but without offering great resistance to rotation. When the cap has been screwed so far into the neck that the dome 20 presses the bent ring against the bottom part of the recess, as illustrated in Fig. 5, then the resistance to rotation of the cap is greatly increased. For effective sealing, however, such extreme fiexure of the ring is'not necessary.

It is apparent that the resistance to screwing on of the cap or cover It is not deleteriously increased by the flexing oi the ring 28 since the ring is not pinched between the dome and the side walls of the recess and hence the cap or closure member In may readily be turned into the neck l2 until the pressure produced by the fiexure of the disc 28 is sufficient to form a fluid tight joint between the neck l2 and the cap l0.

If the packing ring 28 is damaged to such an extent that a fluid tight joint between the neck and the cap cannot be obtained without the use of excessive pressure, it is a relatively simple matter to remove the worn or damaged ring 26 and to substitute therefor a new ring. Because the ring 28 fits snugly about the upstanding cylindrical flange 22 the ring 28 cannot be accidentally or inadvertently removed and hence is retained in sealing position at all times.

Having thus described my invention what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

l. A closure seal for two rotatably interengaging members comprising a convex annular abutment on one of said members facing the other member, and an annular groove in said other member open toward said annular abutment and deeper and radially wider than the depth and width of said abutment and adapted to receive said abutment therein, and a normally fiat ring of resilient material materially thinner than the depth of the groove and having radial extent approximately equal to the radial width of said groove fitting within the entrance of said groove above the bottom 'thereof and movably bridging said groove from side wall to side wall thereof and having its inner and outer edges only seated on the inner and outer side walls of the groove and positioned in the path of movement of said abutment, the groove walls being convergent toward the mid part of the groove and being smoothly continuous at least in substantial part to the bottom of the groove so that a seated edge of the ring is free to slide along the wall with increasing transverse fiexure thereof when the ring is forcibly engaged by said abutment, and means interengaging said members being arranged upon relative rotation of the members to gradually draw the members together to force the topiof said abutment against the mid part of said ring and to flex said ring about its inner and outer edges into the groove with decreasing radial width of the ring and increasing resistance to flexure, said resilient ring simultaneously maintaining sealing pressure between said abutment and spaced apart surface portions of said groove by reason of the flexed condition of said resilient ring, the relative dimensions of said groove, ring and abutment being such that the ring is pushed bodily deeper and deeper into the groove with increased flexure of the ring and is free of pinching against the side walls of the groove.

2. A receptacle having a screw-threaded neck, a closure cap rotatable on the screw threads, and sealing means between the neck and cap comprising a pair of concentric, radially-spaced annularly continuous wall-members forming outer and inner Walls of a wide deep groove, a resilient normally flat sealing ring in and bridging said groove and having its annular inner and outer edge parts only seated on said wall-members and capable of being bent annularly about its inner and outer edges and transversely of its width against its inherent resiliency into said groove while maintaining its edge parts seated on spaced apart surface portions of said groove, said wall members being convergent toward the mid part of the groove and smoothly continuous at least in substantial part to the bottom of the groove so that a seated edge of said ring is free to slide along the wall members with increasing transverse flexure, and a continuous annular projection radially narrower than the groove between said wall members upstanding from the end of said neck located midway between said wall-members and arranged to engage the mid part of said ring between said wall-members and depress said ring into said groove, said projection being sufficiently radially narrower than said groove so that the projection can enter the groove and progressively bend the ring a substantial amount into the groove upon rotation of the cap without pinching the ring against the wall-members.

FREDERICK LOBL. 

